Ruth Martinez earned her third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honor and fourth of the 2026 campaign. The conference announced the award Monday, Oct. 19, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Martinez is the University of Miami women’s volleyball freshman’s latest recognition after a 39-kill weekend.
Martinez posted a career-high 29 kills in Miami’s reverse-sweep victory over No. 5 SMU on Friday. She recorded 14 kills in Miami’s 33-31 fourth-set win and added three kills in the fifth set. Her performance helped the Hurricanes complete the comeback against the ranked opponent.
Martinez delivers career performance against SMU
Martinez recorded five kills in each of the first two sets against SMU and entered the third set with 10 kills. Miami used a balanced attack in the third set, with five different Hurricanes recording at least one kill. Martinez contributed two kills in that set.
Martinez made her largest impact in the fourth set, recording 14 kills in Miami’s 33-31 victory. Nine of those kills came during the Hurricanes’ first 13 points of the set. She added three kills in the fifth set as Miami took an early 5-0 lead and completed the reverse sweep.
Miami also played at No. 2 Pitt on Sunday. Martinez led the Hurricanes with 10 kills while adding one assist, one service ace, four digs and five blocks. She finished the weekend with 39 kills, two assists, two service aces, eight digs and 11 blocks.
Four ACC weekly awards in 2026
Martinez received her first ACC weekly award on Sept. 21 after producing 36 kills over a weekend against LSU and Tulsa. She earned the honor again on Oct. 5 after recording 33 kills against Wake Forest and NC State. Her Oct. 12 award followed a weekend against Clemson and Georgia Tech in which she recorded 46 kills and a .382 hitting percentage.
The latest honor gives Martinez four ACC Freshman of the Week awards in 2026 and three in a row. She trails only Haley Templeton for the most such awards in a season for Miami. Templeton earned the recognition five times in 2014.
Miami schedules home matches
Miami will host Notre Dame and Louisville this weekend at Freeman Indoor Stadium at the Knight Sports Complex. The Hurricanes will face Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 23, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. The supplied schedule information does not include the date or first-serve time for the Louisville match.
The home weekend follows Martinez’s production against No. 5 SMU and No. 2 Pitt. It also gives Miami two scheduled matches after Martinez collected her fourth conference weekly award of the season. Her award run includes honors announced on Sept. 21, Oct. 5, Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.
FSB Take
Martinez’s fourth ACC Freshman of the Week honor is backed by a career-high 29 kills against No. 5 SMU and a 39-kill weekend. She also contributed 11 blocks across Miami’s matches against SMU and No. 2 Pitt. The award places her one honor behind Haley Templeton’s Miami single-season total of five, recorded in 2014.
Miami’s next scheduled home matches are against Notre Dame and Louisville at Freeman Indoor Stadium. Notre Dame is set for Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m., while the supplied information does not provide Louisville’s date or first-serve time. Those matches follow Martinez’s third consecutive weekly award and fourth of the 2026 campaign.
Source: Original report